Man, animal or both? Problems in the interpretation of early symbolic behaviour

Abstract

The interpretation of the first symbolic behaviour is difficult, because our Western mind restricts us. It is hard, if not impossible, to understand the way ancient people perceived the world. The Palaeolithic was the period when the modern human mind had just emerged, and people understood time and the surrounding environment differently. With the appearance of the modern mind and the evolution of new perceptions of time, rituals and funerals emerged. Early therianthropes might be a reflection of this evolution of the human mind.